


Amnesia

by screamssetonfire



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Band Fic, Explicit Language, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Partying, Possible M/M, Sex, Work In Progress, mention of drug use, smut in some chapters, sort of out of character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:02:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screamssetonfire/pseuds/screamssetonfire
Summary: Luke meets a bartender at one of their shows and invites her to an after party at their house as a thank you for letting them drink for free.Frankie is a down-to-earth rich girl who occasionally tends bar at her father's clubs.Michael falls hard for her, but can't do anything because he's stuck in an on again/off again relationship with a terrible girl, so he keeps it secret from Frankie.





	1. There's A Party, You Can Come If You Wanna Go Tonight (Alright, See You Later)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all!
> 
> If you've managed to come across my little story, welcome and thank you for deciding to read it despite the summary that makes it sound awful.
> 
> I actually started this story a long time ago. It began life as a Panic! at the Disco fic, hence it's Las Vegas setting, but I decided I wanted to switch it up to a 5sos fic. Things may not be 100% accurate and at times, I feel, it may get a little out of character, but I'm pretty happy with the story flow and how the characters are portrayed. 
> 
> It DOES jump perspectives occasionally, but primarily I think I'm going to keep it from Luke's perspective as much as I can. It also kind of has a weird tense to it (as far as words being present or past tense), at least in my opinion. Please let me know if you think the tense or perspective changes make the story flow oddly.
> 
> I have quite a bit of the story worked up and know how I'd like it to end (already have a decent portion of that written), I'm just working on connecting everything to fit together cohesively, so updates may be a little bit slow as I get things set.
> 
> I obviously own none of 5sos. That would be a huge responsibility and I do not think I could ever feed and entertain that many giant Australian boys.  
> The only things that I own are my original characters and the storyline created in my head over many, many long nights while trying to fall asleep.
> 
> Thanks for reading all of that and please comment your thoughts and/or leave kudos if you liked the story and would like to see more.  
> Also, please feel free to message me with any questions you may have about anything in the story or any questions about it's pre-5sos stage. :) <3

_Hey, pretty girl, what's your name, what's your number?_

__

_I got the keys to my dad's yellow Hummer._

_There's a party, you can come if you wanna go tonight._

_Alright, see you later._

 

"What can I get you hun?”

Six words that changed my life in ways that I'd never imagine. Sometimes I wish I'd never heard those words. That we'd never sent that stupid demo tape and accepted the offer to play that show. Or that I'd sent Michael or Ashton or Calum to get the beers instead.

Without that damn tape or show or the beers, I wouldn't have met her. Maybe she'd have just been another one of Michael's one night stands after a show. A girl he dazzled with that charm he reserves specifically for the one night stands. I don't know now if that'd have been better or worse.

But without all of those things happening and combining in the way they did, I'd never have known her in the way that I do. I wouldn't know that she loves the rain, but is terrified of thunder and lightning. That her laugh gets impossibly high pitched, occasionally disappearing altogether, when she finds something truly funny. That when she cries, really cries, she gets cold and bundles up in a big, baggy sweatshirt that she most likely stole from one of us. That tequila makes her loose lipped and unconcerned with personal space.

And I wouldn't be here right now, watching the world and the life that she's spent almost 2 years rebuilding for herself, falling apart around her in the middle of a grocery store.

 

 

***Luke's POV***

“What can I get you hun?” The bartender saunters over to my end of the bar to take my order, shouting slightly over the music and leaning halfway across the bar to hear my response.

I do a slight double-take as she walks up, all legs and hips and hair. I realize I must have been staring and quickly shake my head, pretending to have been lost in my thoughts.

“Umm. Yeah, sorry. Four beers, please. Corona, if you have it.” I tell her.

“You don't really look like you're old enough to drink.” She says, smiling at me as she pops the tops off the bottles despite her comment.

“I've been getting ID'd since the day I turned 21. The curse of looking permanently like a teenager.” I laugh.

“I can imagine. You're with the band that's going on next, right?” She asked, sliding the beers towards me.

“Yeah.” I began to reach for my wallet.

“Don't worry about it.” She said. “You guys drink on the house tonight for entertaining masses.”

“Can you do that?”

“I can do whatever I want here.” She smiled at me. “One of the perks of being the daughter of the owner. Besides, the better of a time people have, the more they drink.”

“Oh. That does give you a bit of leeway I suppose. Thanks. I'm Luke, by the way.” I said, extending my hand out to her. “How'd the owner's daughter get stuck tending bar? Aren't there usually employees for that?”

“Frankie.” She hastily wipes her hand on her jeans and leans across the bar to shake my hand. “And, yeah, but we were short handed tonight and the manager called to ask if I could come in to help out. I don't mind. Gives me an excuse to see the bands we get in here.”

“LUKE! MATE! LET'S GO!”

“Sorry. I gotta...” I pointed over my shoulder at my band.

“Absolutely. Good luck up there.” She said, smiling at me as I grabbed the beers and walked back towards the stage. I quickly turned back around, suddenly having an idea.

“Hey... so we're having a party at our place after the show. You're welcome to come if you want.” I offered.

“That sounds fun. I'll just have to help close up the bar then I'll be there.” I gave her the address, which she scribbled down on a napkin and tucked into her pocket. She laughed.

“What?” I asked.

“This is actually just a couple blocks from me. I'm over on Starling.” She said.

“How weird is that.” I laughed. “Cool. Well, just ask for me if you can't find me when you get there.” I headed back to the stage.

  
~~~

***Michael's POV***

We finished up the set and began to pack up our things.

“I think that was the best show we've done yet.” Ashton said, taking his drum kit apart.

“It was pretty good.” I agree.

“I'll be right back guys. Just gotta...” Luke said, the end of his sentence getting lost as he turned and jumped off the stage and headed towards the bar.

”Is he seriously getting another drink right now?” Calum asked, looking after him.

I glanced up from putting my guitar back in it's case to see Luke at the bar talking to the bartender.

I immediately regretted being a lazy ass and not going to get the beer earlier.

She was, without a doubt, the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. She had long, dark hair that was pulled up into a high messy ponytail and was wearing a tight tank top. On some girls it would have looked trashy, but it fit her just right, accentuating her curves. She looked like she was a few inches shorter than Luke, but since she was standing behind the bar, I could only guess.

“Looks more like he's chatting up the bartender, not that I can blame him.” Ashton said, now also staring over at the bar. For some reason, that thought didn't sit well with me. Even though I hadn't even spoken to her, I suddenly had the feeling that I had to talk to this girl or I'd regret it for the rest of my life. Not just speak to her, I wanted her to be mine. No, not wanted, needed.

“Good for him.” Calum stated. “Kid needs to find someone, even if it's just a one night stand.”

“Even if it's just a quick handie in the bathroom.” Ashton laughed. “Mike, you're being awfully quiet over there. Are you that shocked that Luke apparently has some sort of game going for him or has the beer already gotten to you?”

I snapped out of my thoughts. “Oh, sorry man. Just totally checked out there. What were you saying?”

Just then, Luke came running back over.

“Guys, you are not gonna believe this. Not only did we drink free tonight, but I totally invited the bartender to the party.” He smiled proudly like he had just won the World Cup.

“We drank for free? How the hell did you swing that?” Calum asked.

“Did you use your sweet chat up lines and flutter your eyelashes to woo her?” laughed Ashton.

“No! The bartender is the owner's daughter and said all the drinks were on the house since we were 'entertaining the masses'.” He said, looking down and blushing. “She was just so nice for giving us free drinks I thought it'd be nice to invite her to the party. And I have no intention whatsoever of doing any wooing. She just seemed like she'd be fun.”

I had never heard anything more amazing in my life. Seems like the universe is working in my favor tonight. Not only had I drank for free, but this beautiful girl was going to be in my house and I could talk to her after all.

 

***

**Frankie's P.O.V.**

I walked through the door of the house, looking around at the party that was already in full swing.

The usual party was unfolding. Alcohol everywhere, the odd person smoking pot, couples – or should I say strangers – made out with each other in plain sight, and mostly everyone bobbed their head to the music booming from the speakers, so loud that it was nearly impossible to have a conversation with anyone.

I moved through the house, looking for Luke. I already had a slight buzz going when I arrived from the few drinks I'd had as I was bartending that night and the beer I’d recently grabbed from the cooler I'd passed was only adding to that.

I glanced around and noted there were a few hot guys around, one of them being the guitarist from Luke's band, who, amidst my working that evening, I hadn't really looked at earlier. His hair was a bright red, his roots just barely starting to grow in, with a small silver tiara crookedly perched on the top of his head like it was the most normal thing ever, and he had a shiny black bar through his right eyebrow. He was standing by the stairs talking to a guy, clearly a very passionate conversation as he was waving his hands animatedly and shaking his head.

I earned a few whistles from the guys as I walked across the room, scoping out the party. I smirked at the attention, gave a little swing of the hips for their benefit, and kept walking. When I entered the living room, I quickly noticed a very intense game of beer pong was going on in the middle of the room. A group of people, most of them clearly drunk, sat in anywhere they could find nearby to watch the game. They were so trashed they found the whole thing hilarious and were taking sips of their drinks along with the people playing. A few had obviously given up watching to simply continue drinking. I chuckled.

I had been walking around for about half an hour, having drank about 3 beers at this point, and was feeling quite good at this point. I made my way back into the living room and was observing the game of beer pong that was still going on. I was watching it unfold when I felt a hand tap me on the shoulder. I turned to see who touched me and found Luke standing there smirking at me. I could smell the vodka on his breath, but could tell he wasn’t annihilated. He, like me, was having a good time, nothing too major.

“Frankie! You made it!” he said as a greeting. I nodded.

“Hey Luke. This party looks like a real rager.” I said.

“Yeah. We got a good turnout this time." He smiled and noticed I had been looking at the game. "Wanna play?” He asked raising his eyebrows and gesturing to the drunken game underway in front of us. I saw that his band mates had now joined the group, including the red haired guitarist.

“A little bit unfair, is it not?” I asked smirking. “I mean, clearly everyone is trashed and I'm barely buzzed. Plus, as a seasoned bartender, I have quite a lot of experience with beer pong.”

“Yeah, but we can make some changes, up the stakes." he said, walking backwards towards the table, giving me a conspiratorial wink and making dramatic follow me motions with his hands. I sighed and followed him.

"Well, well, well. Luke, what did you bring to the game? Is this the mysterious bartender you invited?" asked a tanned boy with curly hair and a bandana tied around his head, who I recognized as the drummer of Luke's band.

"Yessir. Guys, this is Frankie. Frankie, this is Calum, our resident bass man, Ashton, drum extraordinaire, and princess over there is our other guitarist, Michael." Luke said, pointing to each of this band mates in turn. I smiled at them, giving a small wave.

Luke grabbed a ball from a guy who’d been drunkenly playing the game before. He didn’t protest because he could barely comprehend what had been going on to begin with. Luke held the ball up and gave me a mischievous grin.

“New rules.” he declared loudly, causing everyone playing to glance at him, as well as some bystanders to look on. “No more kindergarten bullshit.” He glanced around, making eye contact with a few people. He was very charismatic. “A few very small rules to keep the game fair. If your ball lands in the other teams' cup, you have the option to make them drink or..." he smirked at the group around him. “you can choose to have them take off a layer of clothing. Each player has one player from the other team that they are in charge of stripping down to make sure nobody is singling anyone out. You get one get out of jail free card per person, meaning that you may opt to take a drink if you don't want to take off a layer. We play til an entire team is naked and whichever team is naked first loses. Other than that there are no rules, do whatever the fuck you want. That should make the game more interesting. Everyone agree on the new rules?” he asked.

Everyone mumbled something along the lines of ‘whatever’.

“Right then! What do you say, Frankie? Would you care to team up and strip down a couple of my lovely band mates?” Luke asked, handing me the ping pong ball.

“Sure. Which of you ladies would like to get naked for your guests?” I said, turning towards his friends.

“I'm always down to get naked in a room full of people.” Calum said. “Ash, you in?”

Ashton turned from his conversation with a random girl.

“I'll pass. Someone has to keep an eye on things once you're all shit-faced and your balls are swinging in the breeze. I'm sure that Michael would be more than happy to lose with you though.” He clapped Calum on the back and turned back to his conversation.

“Alright then. Looks like it's me and Princess Ariel versus Little Lukey and the beautiful bartender.” Calum smiled at us and stepped around one end of the table, setting up his cups.

“Just for the 'little Lukey' comment, Calum is mine.” Luke said, moving to set up our cups as well.

“I guess that leaves it up to me to strip you down to nothing but that tiara, princess.” I turned to Michael, smirking.

“Ooh, big talk from a little girl. We'll see how smug you are once I've got you naked.” He said, tugging lightly on the end of my ponytail and going to join Calum.

“Dirty talk already? We hardly know each other.” I stepped over to the table and grabbed a ball, tossing it to Michael. “Since you're so eager to show off your dick, I'll let you go first.”

Michael tossed the ball, landing it perfectly in one of our cups.

“Since it's only the first turn, I'll let you take a drink.”

“How kind of you.” I plucked the ball out of the cup, downing the liquid and dunking the ball quickly in the water cup to rinse it off. I tossed it to their end of the table, bouncing it off the table and into the center cup of the pyramid. “Ooh. Sorry. That's two cups. But I'm gonna say that cup and a shot instead.”

“I am  _so glad_  I picked you as my partner!” Luke laughed, going to grab a bottle of liquor and a shot glass from the table set up on along one wall. “We're doing vodka shots, baby! Would you care to pour your victim a shot, bartender?”

“Definitely.” I gladly accepted the bottle from Luke and decided to show off some of the tricks I'd learned from my stints bartending. I quickly spun the bottle around in my hand, before tossing it behind my back and catching it with my other hand. I then tossed the bottle up in the air, flipping it upside down, and pouring out a shot. The whole room cheered at my display of bartending flair. I picked up the shot and walked it over to Michael. “Here you go.”

“Show off.” He said, taking the shot from me, downing the beer in the cup and following it with the shot.

“Bartending life, baby.” I winked and made my way back to my end of the table.

***

20 minutes later, despite everyone's talk, we were still drinking. Some of the crowd had started to move to other rooms, losing interest once they realized nobody was actually taking clothes off.

“My turn." Michael said seizing one of the small white balls and lining up his shot. He let it go once he decided it was a perfect shot. Just as the ball reached it's peak over one of mine and Luke's cups, I snatched the ball out of the air, quickly tossing it back to their side, perfectly sinking it in a cup.

“Cheater." He challenged.

“No rules, remember?” I said raising an eyebrow at him and smirking. “Shirt off, princess.”

He began to untie the flannel he had tied around his waist.

*Nuh uh. The  _actual_  shirt. That'll be coming off too eventually, don't worry.” I said, motioning for him to pull his Sex Pistols t-shirt off.

“Wow, you're really trying to get me naked.” He slowly pulled the shirt off over his head, setting it down on the chair next to the game that was miraculously unoccupied. A few people around the room whistled.

"I'm just playing the game." I quickly tossed another ball towards his cups, once again bouncing it off the table and into a cup. "One sock and a shot." I passed the bottle of vodka across the table to him.

"What? It's not even your turn! You just threw the ball!" He protested.

“Yes, it is.” Luke said. “That last ball was technically your ball. She just caught it and threw it back, So technically you lost your shirt for yourself.”

“Shut up, Luke.” Michael begrudgingly took the bottle from my hand, not even bothering with a shot glass, just taking a swig from the bottle, before reaching down to yank a shoe off and remove his sock. He stood back up, throwing the sock at Luke, who screamed like it was a snake.

“Shoe back on.” I said smugly. Michael grumbled, putting his shoe back on.

“You're a pain in the ass, ya know that?”

“You're having a blast though.”

“Stop trying to hinder my teammate!” Calum shouted. “Shoes without socks are awful. That's a major distraction. I call foul! Ash! Tell her she can't make him take his sock off without his shoe first!”

Ashton looked up from whatever someone was showing him on a phone.

“Cal, man, there's very few rules and the order in which clothes are removed are not one of them. Sorry, buddy.”

“Everyone is against us, Mike.” He sighed, turning back to the game. “You fight dirty, bartender.”

***

About half an hour later, Calum was down to just boxers and one of his socks, while Michael was even closer to losing, now just in his boxers and his crooked tiara. We were far better off than either of them. Luke was wearing a shirt and boxers and I had only lost my shirt. Michael had already used his one swap out in an attempt to stall his and Calum's inevitable defeat.

"I thought you said you were gonna beat us?" I taunted, lining up my next shot. "If I make this one, those boxers are coming off." I pointed at Michael.

"Not if I catch that ball and toss it back."

"Good luck with that." I let the ball go, sinking into the nearest of their cups to me. "Ooh... tough luck. Lose the boxers!"

Just as Michael gripped the waistband of his boxers, a guy, completely naked except for a tie around his head, came running into the living room.

"FOAM PARTY IN THE POOL!" The guy yelled, throwing his arms in the air, before running back out again. Everyone in the room cheered and followed the shouter out of the room.

"Motherfucker. Not again!" Ashton quickly set his cup down and ran towards the backyard.

"Again?" I asked, turning to Luke.

"Yeah. It happens at least twice a year at our parties." Luke shrugged. "Wanna go swim in a pool full of soap?"

"I'll pass thanks. I will come watch this whole thing unfold though. Lemme just put my shirt back on."

"Suit yourself." Whooping like the rest of the crowd, he ran in the direction of the mayhem.

"Ash is gonna be so mad while he's draining the pool tomorrow." Calum laughed. "May as well enjoy this before dad puts an end to the fun." He took off into the backyard, pulling his sock off as he went.

I laughed, reaching down to grab my shirt and pulled it on.

"Looks like someone up there was on my side today."

I looked over to see Michael pulling his pants back on, fastening them before tugging his shirt on over his head and putting his flannel on.

"It doesn't matter. Luke and I were totally gonna win anyway."

"There was still the chance for a comeback. A very slim chance, but still a sliver of a chance." Michael sat down on the chair previously holding his clothes and slipped his shoes on.

"You're not joining the pool party?" I asked as he stood up.

"Nah. Someone has to keep you company. Since Luke and Calum are neck deep in laundry soap and Ash is playing lifeguard, that leaves it up to me." He walked by me, bumping his hip into mine playfully as he went by. "You want a bottle of water while we watch a pool full of drunks slip around?"

"Sure." I smiled, following him into the kitchen. He stopped by the fridge, grabbing two bottles of water and handing me one.

We made our way out into the backyard, stopping just under the edge of the overhang to watch the chaotic scene now unfolding in the yard.

Almost all of the people from the party were now in the backyard, most of them in the pool, but several were using a large tarp as a makeshift Slip 'N Slide which appeared as though someone had also poured dish soap all over it to add to the slipperiness of it. A few people were just throwing buckets of soapy water at each other. Someone had managed to wrangle up every pool toy and floaty that was on the property and was either floating on them or tossing them around.

In the middle of the pool, which was completely covered in soap bubbles, was a soaking wet, soapy Luke, standing on a massive swan floaty like he was a king.

"CANNONBALL!" He screamed, preparing to leap into the pool. Just as he was about to leap off the swan, someone reached up and grabbed his ankles, pulling him into the pool. Near as I could tell, the assailant had been Calum, because as soon as Luke was in the water, he pulled himself up onto the giant bird.

"GUYS! PLEASE BE CAREFUL! STOP THROWING BUCKETS! SERIOUSLY!" Ashton was hastily running around the yard collecting up anything that a drunk person may trip over or decide it was a good idea to throw. He scooped up a snow shovel and jogged over to where Michael and I stood. "I don't even know where someone got a snow shovel in Las Vegas. I swear to god, we are getting this pool filled in. HEY! NO! NO MORE SOAP IN THE POOL!" He turned around, sprinting over to a girl who was about to pour what looked like an industrial sized jug of dish soap into the pool.

"Wow." I laughed, turning to a bemused Michael who was now holding a shovel.

"Yeah." He walked over to the house, leaning the shovel against the siding. "Wanna hear something funny? I'm the one who always puts soap in the pool."

"Are you serious? How did you even manage that? We've been playing beer pong for the last 45 minutes."

"My friend Aiden was the naked guy. He's not nearly as drunk as he seems. I hid the soap out back before we left for the show and he poured it in there when Ash was thoroughly distracted. He watches that pool like a hawk every party. That's why we can only get away with it a couple times a year" Michael laughed, coming back to stand next to me.

"That's horrible. Poor Ashton." I glanced back out at the party, spotting the drummer, who now appeared to be trying to coax a girl down out of the lower branches of a tree. A guy snuck up on him dousing him with a bucket of water. We could just barely hear him screaming over the noise of the party.

"I get him really expensive gifts for holidays to make up for it. I think he suspects it's me, but since he can never catch me doing it, he has no proof.” Cracking open his water, he took a long sip.

“Still, that's just mean. I hope you at least help clean up the next day.” I wrapped my arms around myself, rubbing my arms.

“You cold?” He asked, glancing over at me.

“Yeah. You'd think after 15 years of chilly spring nights, I'd be used to it and dress accordingly if I think I'm gonna be out late, but no.”

“Here.” Michael pulled his flannel off, handing it to me to put on.

“No. I'll be fine. Then you'll be cold.” I waived a hand at him dismissively.

“Seriously, I'm good. You're wearing a tank top. I've at least got sleeves and a collar that comes up to my neck. You can either take it or I'm putting it on you myself.” He shook the shirt insistently in my direction.

“Fine.” I grabbed the shirt, slipping it on and pulling it around myself. It was still warm and smelled faintly of cologne. Really nice cologne. “Thanks.”

“No problem. So... Luke said you live nearby?”

“Yeah. I'm actually over on Starling.” I pulled the shirt tighter around me, tucking my hands up in the sleeves.

“Oh! Over by the Starling Castle? That place looks so cool from the outside! I bet it's huge inside. I'd love to see it.” He said excitedly, clapping his hands.

“Well then you should swing by sometime and I'll give you a tour.” Michael stared at me blankly for a second.

“Yeah, right. Cause you live in the giant ass house in the middle of the Las Vegas suburbs.” I stared back at him. “No! Seriously? You live in the castle!?!?!”

“Seriously. My dad owns a ton of bars and clubs all over. We're not gonna live in a trailer.” I laughed.

“That's crazy. I mean, no offense, but you definitely don't seem like a spoiled rich girl who'd live in a place like that.”

“None taken. My dad was really big making sure we weren't raised to act like we were better than everyone. He didn't have much when he was growing up, so he always gave my older brother and I what we asked for, but he also made us get jobs when we were old enough and earn money for ourselves. We hated it, couldn't understand at the time why we needed to work. We're rich, we  _have_ money. I'm glad he did it though. It really made me appreciate things, ya know?” I brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “God, I sound like a movie.”

“No! You totally do, but it's cool that he did that. It sucks when you meet someone and it seems like they'll be really awesome, then they have a shit personality cause their parents gave them everything and they never had to work for what they have.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “You need to give me your number so I can take you up on that offer to see your house cause I seriously need to see every inch of it.” I snatched his phone out of his hand, quickly saving my number in it and sending a text to myself so I'd have his number too, before passing it back to him. “I'm gonna hold you to that. Pink promise me.” He eagerly held out his hand, pinky extended.

“Pinky promise.” I said, making to link my pinky with his. He quickly pulled his hand back.

“Don't forget, you break a pinky promise, I get to break your pinky.”

“Deal.” I said. Michael once again extended his hand, linking his finger with mine and squeezing.

“Awesome.”

“Now I get to ask a question.” I took my hand back, bunching the sleeves of his shirt back up to keep my hands warm. “Why exactly are you wearing a tiara? I've been wondering all damn night.” He laughed.

“I don't know. Some drunk girl came up to my, put it on my head, told me I was the party princess, and told me I have to keep it on all night or she'd be really sad. I think it looks good on me.” He reached up and straightened the tiara out.

“I didn't say it didn't. I was just curious. But...” I reached up and slanted the tiara again..”it definitely looks better crooked.” I stepped back to admire my work. “Yeah. Definitely better crooked.”

“Ya know what I think?”Michael quickly pulled the tiara off and placed it on my head. “I think that it looks way better on you. I mean, the flannel really completes the while princess look. Plus, you live in a castle.”

“THAT'S IT! PARTY IS OVER! EVERYONE GET YOUR SHIT AND GO!” Ashton began herding drunk people towards the gate leading to the front of the house. “AND IF YOU'RE DRIPPING WATER, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING INTO MY HOUSE AND LEAVING WET TRAILS ALL OVER! SEND IN A DRY FRIEND!”

“I guess that's my cue to leave” I said, turning and heading back inside.

“I'll walk you to your car.” He says, following me in and to the front door, pulling it open for me. As we were about to step outside, Michael's friend Aiden, now fully clothed, came running up to us.

“MIKE! Another successful sudsing, man. I think this is the most we've ever gotten!” Aiden reached out, high-fiving Michael, before turning to me, taking my hand and bowing. “Your highness. Excellent game of beer pong.” He kissed my hand lightly and straightened up. He elbowed Michael in the ribs. “This one needed to be taken down off his high horse anyway. Thinks he's a beer pong god. We should team up next time.”

Just then, Ashton came into the house shouting after Luke and Calum, who, despite Ashton's warning, were dripping water all over the floor in the kitchen and sliding around, giggling like maniacs.

“Yeah, time for me to go. See you guys around.” Aiden clapped Michael on the shoulder, darting out the door and into the darkness.

“Right... well.” Michael stared after him as we stepped out onto the porch. “Where'd you park? Did you manage to get a good spot?”

“I walked over.” I said, gesturing in the direction of my house.

“Oh. I'll walk you home then. I don't want you walking home alone and drunk in the dark.” He stepped off the porch.

“I'll be good. Thanks though.” I started making my way down the lawn. “I'll use my sick kung fu on any attackers.” I turned to face him, making a few karate chop motions in the air.

“Are you sure? I don't mind. Really.” He said, taking another few steps onto the lawn.

“Yeah. I can manage.”

“Alright. I'll see you later then. Text me and let me know you got home safe at least.” Michael called after me, sounding concerned. “WAIT! YOU'VE STILL GOT MY SHIRT AND MY TIARA!” I turned around and walked backwards down the sidewalk.

“I guess you'll just have to get them back when you storm the castle.” I laughed and turned, taking off running down the sidewalk.

***

It took me about 15 minutes to get home. As soon as I locked the door behind me, I pulled out my phone and quickly sent Michael a text.

 

**To: Princess Michael:**

**Thanks for the shirt & tiara. You can stop worrying now. I made it home safe. & I only had to karate chop one attacker. ;P**

 

I locked my phone and made my way up the stairs to my room. Pulling off the flannel, I hung it on my computer chair and carefully pulled the tiara off, setting it down on the desk. I tossed my phone on the bed, changed into my pajamas, and went to wash my makeup off.

I came back into my room just as my phone beeped a few times, signaling new messages. I unlocked my phone and opened the conversation with Michael.

 

**From: Princess Michael:**

**Smart ass.**

**I really was worried about letting you walk alone.**

**I'm glad you made it home safe though.**

**Thank you for humoring me and letting me know.**

 

**To: Princess Michael:**

**Np. Come by anytime to reclaim your crown.**

 

**From: Princess Michael:**

**I definitely will. Keep it safe for me until then.**

**I'm headed to bed now that I know you're safe.**

**Goodnight, Starling Castle Princess.**

 

I laughed at that. I snapped a picture of the shirt and tiara and sent it to him.

 

**To: Princess Michael:**

**Both the shirt & the tiara are perfectly safe.**

**Goodnight to you too, Michael.**

 

I plugged my phone in, setting it on the nightstand.

I climbed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly, my long day finally catching up with me.


	2. The Shirt That I Had (That You Always Borrowed)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael finally gets his tour of the castle and they all realize what a jackpot they hit in the friend department.

  
_Tonight we're fading fast_  
_I just wanna make this last_  
_If I could say the things that I wanna say_  
_I'd find a way to make you stay_  
_I'd never let you get away_  


***

** Luke's POV **

I was woken up far earlier than I would have liked the next morning by a very annoyed Ashton throwing open my bedroom door, declaring that I “get the fuck up & help clean up the mess from last night”, then going to do the same to both Calum and Michael.

I groaned, rolling out of my bed and pulling on the first clothes I found. I left my room just as Calum left his. We stared at each other for a second, realizing at the same time that we were both headed for the bathroom.

In an instant, we both sprinted for the bathroom in an attempt to get there first. As soon as we hit the door, we got jammed up in the entryway, which was clearly not big enough for both of us to get through at the same time shoulder to shoulder. A brief scuffle ensued as we both tried to gain the upper hand and reach the toilet before the other.

Michael came out of his room at the noise, rubbing his hand through his sleep messed hair in an attempt to create some semblance of neatness.

“This is why I took the small room. It's has a bathroom in it and I don't have to--” Michael yawned. “I don't have to fight anyone for the bathroom in the morning.”

“Maybe if Calum would just let me use the bathroom first...” I said, trying to squiggle out of the arm Calum had wrapped around my stomach. I pushed him back, slamming the bathroom door against the wall.

“What the hell is going on up there?” Ashton yelled up the stairs.

”They're fighting over the bathroom.” Michael said, making his way down the stairs, letting out another yawn.

“Guys! We have another bathroom down here! How about one of you uses this one? Then... hey! Cool! You'll already be down here and you can clean the bathroom while you're in there!”

I knew the downstairs bathroom would be even worse than the one up here. It was a lot easier to use a bathroom on the first floor of somewhere when you're drunk.

I began to fight even harder to get into this one.

“LUKE! CALUM! SERIOUSLY! YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS TO DECIDE WHO'S COMING TO USE THIS ONE OR I'M CHOOSING! AND YOU'LL NOT ONLY HAVE TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM, YOU'LL BE CLEANING THE ENTIRE DOWNSTAIRS!” Ashton started counting.

We immediately stopped arguing.

“That's what I thought. Who's coming down?”

“Luke is on his way down!” Calum called in the direction of the stairs, letting me go.

“You dick.” I said, resigning myself to having to clean the worse bathroom, and heading down the stairs.

“There. That wasn't so hard, now was it?” Ashton said, handing me gloves and a bucket of cleaning supplies. “You have the downstairs bathroom and the game room. Have fun.” He disappeared towards the backyard, preparing to start the long and difficult task of removing all the bubbles from the pool.

***

** Michael's POV **

4 hours, a box of garbage bags, and several rolls of paper towels later, the inside of the house was clean again. Since I had come downstairs with no argument to help, I got my pick of where to clean. I had taken the kitchen and the living room.

I wandered out into the backyard to see how Ashton was coming along with removing the soap and if he needed any help.

“I know this was you, Michael! I swear to you, the day I catch you doing this shit, I will drown you in this damn pool.” Ashton pointed the pool skimmer at me threateningly before going back to angrily scooping large piles of foam off the top of the water and dumping them on the grass to be rinsed away later.

“Ash, how the hell could I have possibly put soap in the pool when I was getting stripped down by the hot bartender?” I raised my hands defensively.

“I don't know, but I know you had a hand in this.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “And 'the hot bartender'? Is that why you were so spaced out when we were packing up?”

“No.” I said, a bit too quickly.

“Michael. Seriously. I thought you and Cara were getting back together?” He looked at me, disappointed.

“I don't know what's going on with Cara. She hasn't answered any of my calls or texts for days. Who knows?” I shrugged, trying to act like it didn't bother me.

I had met Cara about 3 years ago, shortly after the guys and I had moved to Las Vegas.

Cara was the type of girl that never would have given me a second glance back home. Petite, blonde hair, blue eyes, and rich. She wasn't even someone I'd normally date. We just happened to meet and hit it off for some reason. Since then, we've definitely had our ups and downs. We've had a pretty on again/off again relationship for the past two of the 3 years we'd been together, one that was currently in the off again phase. Most times, it was her who initiated the break after we got into a fight over something stupid I'd done. A few days later, I'd call her, begging to get back together. Things would usually be good for a while, before the whole cycle started again. It sucked, but I loved her after having been together this long.

“You need to just break up with her for good already, man.”

“No. I love her. I do!” I said, Ashton raising an eyebrow at me. “Don't give me that look. I do love her. We just have our issues, just like any couple. It'll work out and we'll get back together.”

“I know you don't wanna hear it--”

“Then don't say it. I'm not gonna listen to this again. Do you want help with the pool or not?”

“Yeah.” Ashton sighed, realizing I wasn't going to have this conversation again. “Grab the hose and start rinsing the soap off the lawn.”

***

Two days after the party, I decided it was time to see the inside of the mysterious Starling Castle.

We had walked to the convenience store a few blocks over and were now just walking aimlessly around the neighborhood. As we got closer to the end of Starling, I decided to cash in on my tour of the castle.

“Guys! Let's head over to Frankie's house!” I said, stopping at the end of the street.

“Michael, you can't just drop in on places like that.” Ashton said, always the rational one. “You don't even know if she's home.”

“That's why I'm gonna text her.”

They all froze and stared at me.

“What?” I said, looking at each of them in turn.

“You have her number?” Luke asked. “I don't even have her number and I invited her to our party.”

“Did you ask her for it?” I quickly sent a text to Frankie.

 **To: Frankie**  
**Hey.**

“C'mon!” I turned, heading down the street.

“I'm interested to hear how you got her number.” Calum said, leaning over to whisper something to Ashton.

“What are you old ladies gossiping about?” I turned around, continuing backwards down the street, giving them a suspicious look.

“Did you even get a response from her yet?” Calum quickly changed the subject and began to follow me down the street.

“No. But even if she's not home, we can go to the super cool rich people playground.” I took a sip of the icee I had gotten at the store.

“So Luke can get us kicked out again?” Ashton said, sighing as he and Luke began to wander down the sidewalk after us.

“Listen! I didn't know that that kid would try to hang upside down on the monkey bars too! It's not my fault he tried to copy me and broke his arm!” Luke shouted, tossing a handful of his popcorn at Ashton.

“If you keep shouting, we'll get kicked out of the neighborhood before we even make it to the halfway down the street.”

Just then, my text notification went off.

 **From: Frankie  
** **Hey! :D**  
**I was kinda hoping you'd forgotten.**  
**This tiara looks really good in my house.**  
**What's up?**

**To: Frankie  
** **Not a chance.**  
**Maybe if it was just the shirt, but the tiara has sentimental value. XD**

By now, we were almost at the driveway of the big house. I stopped when I got to the end.

 **To: Frankie  
** **You home?**  
**I figured I'd come get that tour you promised me.**  
**Unless you wanted to let me break your pinky...**  
**Maybe you're into that kind of thing. Idk.**

She responded immediately.

 **From: Frankie**  
**Sure am. :) Head over whenever you want. I'm not going anywhere for the rest of the evening.**

**To: Frankie  
Cool. I'm bringing the guys. We'll be over soon! :D :D :D**

“Sweet! She's home!” I started making my way up the driveway, passing a dark blue Toyota Land Cruiser parked to the left of the porch.

“Giving her a little bit of heads up would have been nice. Not just 'hey, you home? Cool, I'll be there in 10 seconds.' Not everyone likes unexpected visitors.” Ashton, ever the dad of the group, scolded me.

We stepped up onto the porch, taking in the front of the house. I rang the doorbell and turned to face the guys.

“She said head over whenever we want. I want to head over now.” I shrugged, turning back to the door.

About 30 seconds after I rang the bell, the door opened.

Frankie had clearly been relaxing in her house, not intending to go anywhere. She was wearing capri length leggings and a baggy Northeastern University sweatshirt that was hanging off one of her shoulders. Her hair was hanging down her back in a French braid and she had a pair of thick rimmed black glasses on.

“Oh! When you said 'soon', I assumed you meant like 10, 15 minutes. Like you were walking from your house. Not from the end of my driveway.” She blinked at us for a moment, before recovering herself and pulling the sweatshirt up over her shoulder. “I didn't even have time to take out my curlers.” She said in a Southern accent, patting at imaginary curlers.

“I told you people don't like unexpected visitors.” Ashton punched me in the arm. “Sorry, Frankie. I really did try to tell him. How are you?”

“I'm good. It's fine, I really wasn't doing anything. Just hanging out reading a book while I finished up in the kitchen. Where are my manners! Come in!” Frankie pulled the door open more, stepping back to let us in.

“Thanks!” I said brightly, taking in the entryway.

Just to the right of the door, running along the wall, was a large staircase, the walkway above open to the foyer. The ceiling was at least 20 feet high and the walls were painted a pale cream color, making the room seem open, but cozy for such a large space. Light hardwood ran throughout the entire room.

Immediately to the right of the door was an archway leading into a family room with several overstuffed and well loved chairs and a fireplace flanked by floor to ceiling bookcases.

To the left was a dining room with a table large enough for 8 people to sit comfortably. On the far wall of the foyer was another archway leading into what appeared to be a large empty room with marble flooring. Running left and right off the foyer was a hallway, one direction leading under the staircase.

I was already amazed and I was barely even in the house.

From somewhere down the left end of the hallway, there was a beeping noise.

“OH! MY COOKIES! Come on. I guess we'll start in the kitchen.” Frankie turned and quickly headed down the hallway.

“You're making cookies?!?!” Luke asked, perking up when he heard the word cookies.

“Yeah.” She yelled back. “If you guys would follow me instead of standing in the entryway like weirdos, you can even have some while they're still warm...”

“Luke, dude, you are totally in charge of finding new friends from now on. I think you literally found the best person on the planet.” Calum clapped Luke on the back before kicking his shoes off and heading the direction Frankie had a moment before.

“I 100% agree.” I said, doing the same as Calum.

At the end of the hallway, through a door on the right, was the nicest kitchen I'd ever seen. The floors were a light sand colored tile, almost matching the walls perfectly. The cabinets were a reddish-gold knotty pine with tan marble counter tops. All of the appliances were a bright stainless steel. In the middle of the room sat a large island, which was covered in cooking racks full of chocolate chip cookies.

“You seriously made all these cookies?” I asked, staring at the 5 dozen or so cookies.

“Yeah? Who else would have made them? The Keebler Elves? I may be rich, but I don't spend my money on frivolous things like elves.” Frankie said, leaning down to pull two more trays of cookies out of the oven. She set them on another set of cooling racks on the counter next to the stove. “Believe it or not, I do cook my own food. This isn't LA where you can just have meals prepared for the week and delivered to you.” She turned around, opening a cupboard and pulling out a large Tupperware container, filling it with cookies. “Stop staring and just eat some already.”

We all dove for a cookie immediately. There was a collective groan around the room.

“Are you a witch of some kind? Cause these are seriously the best damn cookies I've ever had.” Calum said, stuffing the rest of the cookie in his mouth, quickly grabbing another. “I'm eating more.”

“I'm glad you like them cause I made more than just me and dad will eat so you're taking some home.” She snapped the lid shut, handing it to Ashton, and eying the rest of us. “I'm trusting you to get these home safe.”

“Smart choice.” He said, as he took the container. “Does your mom not eat cookies?”

“Not for a while now. She died when I was 16.”

The room fell silent. None of us knew what to say.

“It's okay, guys. Really. You don't have to act so somber about it. It was like 8 years ago. I'm okay talking about it.” She laughed. Seeing us still looking hesitant, she changed the subject. “So... I'm just gonna clean up this stuff and we can go see the rest of the house.” She grabbed a tray from the sink and began loading the dishwasher.

Just then a small woman with gray hair pulled into a tight bun on top of her head came bustling into the kitchen, a laundry basket propped under her arm.

“Hello, Helen.” Frankie said brightly to the woman. “How are you today?”

“Ah, meine liebste, I'm good. As always. Oh, hast du made cookies?” answered Helen, who was apparently German. Helen couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall and had a slim build. She was in her mid to late 60s and had a soft face, reminding me of my grandmother. She set her basket down on the floor and walked over to embrace Frankie.

“Oh, ja. Bitte nimm dir selbst nach hause und Franz.” Frankie said to her, hugging her back then pointing to a smaller container on the end of the island. Helen reached up, patting Frankie on the cheek.

“You're always so nett to me.” She smiled, turning to grab her basket. “Wer sind deine hübschen freunde, engel?” She nodded her head slightly at us.

I looked over at the guys to see if any of them could decipher any of what this old woman was saying, but they all looked as confused as I felt, both from the shock that Frankie spoke German and from not knowing what they were saying.

“These are the boys I was telling you about. Die in der band? Remember? That's Luke, Calum, Ashton, and Michael. They came over for a visit and to see the house.” Frankie pointed to each of us in turn before turning to continue loading the dishwasher. ”This is Helen, our housekeeper. She's been with us as long as I can remember and she's like a grandmother to me.”

“Ah. Ja, ja. I remember. Hello, boys.” She smiled at us warmly. “Francesca, don't worry about das dishes. I'll do it. Spend time with ihre hübschen gäste.”

“Really, Helen, it's fine. I don't mind.” Frankie said, straightening up and turning to face the other woman.

“Liebste, I insist. Don't argue with me.”

“Alright. But leave my laundry on my bed and I'll put it away myself.”

“Absolutely not. Now go show these boys your lovely zuhause.” Helen said. “Oh, und lieb? Keine jungs in deinem zimmer, wie?”

Frankie laughed at whatever Helen had just said and gave the woman another quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

“Of course.” She turned to us. “Let's take a look around the castle.”

***

This house was even more amazing on the inside than I could have ever imagined.

The big empty room we could see from the foyer turned out to be a ballroom, which Frankie informed us was used approximately 3 times a year, once for her birthday, once for Christmas, and once for New Year's. She excitedly showed us what she used it for the rest of the year: sock skating. We spent the next hour after she told us that sliding back and forth across the room.

After that she showed us the family room we had seen earlier, informing us that it was her favorite room in the house because of the wall of bookcases. (“It's my own personal mini Beauty and the Beast library.” she had said, a huge smile on her face.) The room next door was a pretty basic study with a big mahogany desk and plush leather chair. (“Dad likes to work from home sometimes.” Frankie explained, shrugging.)

Across the hall from that was a set of closed double doors. She wouldn't let us see what was behind them, insisting it was a surprise and she was saving it for the end.

We made our way up the massive staircase to see the upstairs of the house.

“There's not anything too exciting up here. Bedrooms and the storage room. The balcony is pretty cool though.” Frankie gestured to the view of the foyer from the second floor. “The door on the end of the hall to the left is my dad's room. If you keep going, you end up in the creepy storage room. My brother's room was the one in the curve of the wall there. I'm the room right at the end of the balcony.” She pointed around to each room as she explained.

“Are we gonna get to see your room?” I asked, hoping to get a glimpse of her own personal world. She laughed at me.

“Not a chance, princess. I don't take boys to my room on the first date.” She winked at me and laughed again. “Plus, Helen would have my ass. She explicitly told me no boys in my room when we were in the kitchen.”

“None of us speak German, so we had no idea what she told you.” Luke pointed out, leaning over the balcony to see if he could see into the ballroom from up here.

“Are you trying to see the propellers?” Frankie raised an eyebrow at the lanky boy. “Please don't fall.”

Ashton spun around, grabbing Luke by the collar and pulling him back upright. Luke made a choking sound from his shirt collar being jammed against his throat.

“Jesus, Luke. Don't do that shit. You're clumsy enough that you probably will fall.” Luke grumbled and rubbed his neck.

“Fine! Just don't choke me out. Jerk.” He threw Ashton an unhappy look.

“How about we carefully go back downstairs so Rose here doesn't fall over the railing into the Atlantic?” Frankie made her way towards the stairs. “We can see the best room in the house. It's the reason all my friends always came to my house.”

***

“Holy. Shit.” Calum said, taking in the huge room before us.

“I second that.” I said, making my way over to the far wall, which held a massive projection screen and a cabinet to the left housing pretty much every gaming system in existence.

The last room turned out to be a huge home theater, a snack bar running down one wall complete with a soda fountain, full bar, an assortment of candy, and popcorn machine. There were several recliners around the room, as well as a large sectional couch in front of the screen. The cabinet on the right side held a huge collection of movies spanning all genres.

“I can definitely see why all your friends wanted to come over here.” Luke said around a mouthful of gummy bears from the snack bar. “This is the best room ever.”

“I told you. That's why I saved it for last. If you guys want I can order a pizza and we can watch a movie or play some video games. Like I said before, I don't have anything planned for the rest—OOF!” The end of her sentence was cut off as Luke and I simultaneously tackle hugged her.

“You're the greatest person alive.” I said, squeezing her tightly.

“The greatest person to ever live.” Luke added, also squeezing her.

“Guys! I appreciate the sentiment, but I really can't breathe.” Frankie gasped. Luke and I both quickly let go. She sucked in a huge breath.

“Sorry about them.” Ashton apologized. “It's just that this is so cool and meeting and inviting you to our party is definitely the coolest thing that Luke has ever done. The boys are just a bit overwhelmed.”

“HEY!” Luke said from over by the snack bar,him and Calum scoping out the selection. “Rude.”

“It's fine. I don't have any friends who get excited over this room much anymore so it's nice to see someone excited about it. I'll order the pizza. Pepperoni good for everyone?” We all nodded collectively. “Cool. You guys can help yourself to whatever you want from the snack area. I don't even know why we keep it stocked anymore so that stuff needs to be eaten before it goes bad.” She picked up a remote from the table next to one of the recliners and pressed a button. The cabinet with the game systems slid behind the screen to reveal an assortment of games. “Pick a game too. Just press this button to put the shelf back once you find one. I'll be right back.” She handed the remote to Luke, who was now downing a large glass of pop to was down his gummy bears.

I stared at the large display of games for a second before dropping into the nearest recliner.

Frankie is definitely the most amazing girl I've ever met.

***

Frankie had ordered 5 pizzas and insisted on paying for them, despite us all trying to pitch in. (“Seriously guys, I think I can afford to buy 5 pizzas. Plus, my mom always taught me to feed my guests.”) We had spent the last few hours drinking beer and playing every video game we found that we liked. Once the pizza had arrived we had switched to movies so we could eat.

We were now all sprawled across the couch in varying degrees of food coma watching a random shitty horror movie Calum had put in.

“What the hell even is this movie?” Ashton asked as a girl got strangled on screen. “It's terrible.”

“It's Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings and it's the best movie ever.”Calum said, poking him in the head with his foot, which was up on the back of the couch.

“Why did you pick the fourth movie in a series?”

“Cause they don't tie in really. They're a series, but they stand on their own. Kind of like the Saw movies.”

“Well it's awful.” Ashton shoved Calum's foot away from him, making a face.

“My brother and I used to watch these movies whenever my parents were out of town. Scared the shit out of us when we were younger” Frankie chimed in. She was wedged into the corner of the couch between me and Luke, who had his head leaning against her shoulder, groaning every so often. “I told you not to eat so much candy.” She nudged him in the ribs.

“Don't...” He groaned, curling his arms tighter around his stomach.

“I'm just saying. You wouldn't feel like that if you'd slowed down on those gummies.”

“They were so good though.” Luke's eyes slipped closed. “I'm just gonna sleep on you now and maybe when I wake up I'll feel better.”

I felt a pang of jealousy as I looked over at Luke leaning so casually against Frankie as though he'd known her for years instead of days. I watched as she laughed at something else she said to Luke, her nose crinkling up slightly. I heard Ashton clear his throat and looked over at him.

He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. I stared him down angrily til he sighed, shaking his head and turning his attention back to the movie as Calum said something about what was happening.

I decide to just try to focus on the movie and not the girl sitting next to me and Luke, who I'd give anything to switch places with right now.

***

Next thing I know, the credits are rolling on the screen. I go to stretch my arms, but find that my right arm is trapped.

I glance over and see Frankie sleeping peacefully against me, Luke having moved at some point to the floor with several pillows, clearly deciding that laying flat was better for his stomach. I smile as I see how comfortable she looks.

“Staring at her like that isn't a good idea if you plan on getting back with Cara.”

I jump at the sound of Ashton's voice in the quiet of the room. At my sudden movement, Frankie stirs slightly. She sits up, stretching, realizing she had fallen asleep on me.

“Sorry.” She said, yawning. “I didn't mean to trap you. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was.”

“Not a problem. Luke had you trapped from the other side so there wasn't much option in terms of where to fall asleep.”

“It's pretty late.” Ashton pushed himself off the couch, checking the time on his phone. “We should probably head out and let you get to bed.” He snatched a pillow from the couch, smacking Calum with it then launching it at the sleeping boy on the floor. “Wake up, idiots. Time to leave Frankie alone.”

Both boys woke with a start, Luke screaming as the pillow hit him. I roared with laughter as Luke shot up, brandishing the pillow that had just hit him like a weapon.

“Why do you have to be so mean to me?!?!” He cried, tossing the pillow at me.

“Not... me...” I said, gasping for breath between laughs. “Ash...” I gestured at our drummer, who was now also receiving a dirty look from Calum. Luke narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not believing it was really Ashton.

“Oh.” Frankie looked at her phone. “It is late. I have to be up early to get my dad from the airport. This was fun though. We should definitely do this every week.” She stood up and stretched again, her sweatshirt riding up a bit to reveal a small sliver of her stomach.

“That'd be so fun.” Luke's voice called from the floor, evidently having laid down again.

“For sure.” Ashton said. “Next time you are letting us pay for food though. I'm not letting you spend that much money on us again.”

“Not as long as we hang out here. If you're my guest, I'm feeding you. Speaking of which... let me get those cookies and I will walk you out.” She stated, heading out of the room to grab the container of cookies she'd packed for us.

“Coolest. Person. Ever.” Ashton threw another pillow in Luke's direction to get him moving. “Alright, alright.”

We all shambled our way to the foyer and sleepily pulled our shoes on, slowly realizing we had to walk the few blocks back home and groaning.

“Here you go!” Frankie came shuffling back into the foyer with the container of cookies, handing them to Ashton. “Did you guys want me to drive you home?”

“Yes please!” Calum, Luke, and I said together.

“No, we can walk.” Ashton said as the rest of us all groaned.

“Looks like you're outnumbered, Ash.” Frankie shrugged, grabbing a set of keys off the table next to the door. “C'mon.” She slipped on a pair of flips flops and started out the door.

“Shotgun!” Calum shouted, sprinting out the door.

“How can you have so much energy?” I yawned, straggling out the door after him.

“I slept. I am renewed.” He said.

Frankie clicked a button on her keys, the lights to the Land Cruiser we passed earlier flashing to life.

“Hop in.”

We all piled into her car, which was immaculately clean and smelled of vanilla. I felt bad even touching anything, afraid I'd get it dirty. Luke was in the middle of the back seat between Ashton and I. Frankie started the car, pulling out into the street and heading towards our house.

A few short minutes later, she pulled into our driveway. We all mumbled a thanks as we climbed out of the SUV.

“This was really fun. I mean it, we need to do this every week. And seriously, you guys are welcome any time.” Frankie said.

“Definitely.” Calum said, shutting the door.

“I will be over eating from your movie theater snack bar every day.” Luke smiled, waving to Frankie and turning to head in the house, where Ashton had already unlocked the door and was now waving.

“For real, that was awesome. I'm glad I decided to drop in relatively unannounced.” I said, stopping by the driver's side window to chat for a minute. “Thanks.”

“Absolutely. You're a really comfortable pillow, which is something I value greatly in a friend, by the way.”Frankie smiled and punched me lightly in the shoulder. My heart dropped slightly at the word 'friend'.

“I've always prided myself on being a comfortable pillow. I'm glad I'm still maintaining that reputation. I'll see you later.” I turned to go inside, ready for bed. I was halfway to the door when I remembered. I spun around. “Hey! I forgot to grab my shirt and tiara!”

“I guess you'll have to come back a different day and get it then.” Frankie laughed, pulling out the the driveway. She stopped when she got to the end, yelling out the passenger side window. “Oh, and Mikey? I hope the inside of my house was what you imagined it would be.”

I watched her drive off, slightly in shock that I had just had the day I did. And apparently I'm on nickname terms with the princess of the Starling Castle. I shook my head, wandering in the house to get some much needed sleep and dream about my impossible day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *GERMAN PART TRANSLATION*  
> I used Google Translate, so it's probably not 100% accurate.
> 
> meine liebste - my dear  
> hast du - have you  
> Oh, ja. Bitte nimm dir selbst nach hause und Franz - oh, yes. please take some home for youself and Franz. (Helen's husband)  
> so nett - so kind  
> wer sind deine hübschen freunde, engel? - who are your handsome friends, angel?  
> Die in der band? - teh ones in the band?  
> ihre hübschen gäste - your handsome guests  
> liebste - dear  
> zuhause- home  
> Oh, und lieb? Keine jungs in deinem zimmer, wie? - oh, and dear? no boys in your room, eh?


	3. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey.

 

It's been a bit since I've updated this story. To be honest, it hasn't been very popular here or on Tumblr.

I'm also kinda stuck with it. I have a TON written up for it (43 pages to be exact) but I'm struggling to connect all the pieces together.

 

If anyone is interested in seeing more of this story, please let me know and I will try to continue it.

If not, I'm gonna scrap it and keep writing my one shots.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and please let me know what you thought and if you want to read more or if I should scrap this.
> 
> Also, you can hit me up [like-screams-set-on-fire](http://like-screams-set-on-fire.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr, where you will find things cross-posted and links to all my other social media.


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